


Second Chances

by Yvi



Category: Love Actually (2003)
Genre: F/M, First Kiss, Romance, Yuletide
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-12-20
Updated: 2009-12-20
Packaged: 2017-10-04 17:00:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,049
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/32438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yvi/pseuds/Yvi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When he saw her again, he couldn't believe his eyes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Second Chances

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Juleet](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Juleet/gifts).



Life has been good to him. Sure, he was, once again, single. That wasn't quite so nice. But he had a nice flat, a few good friends, and his art gallery here was doing well. Here, that was Edinburgh, a gorgeous place by anyone's measure. Lovely city. London hadn't been too kind to him in the end, too many memories, too many questions, too many people, maybe. Turning his back on it has been surprisingly easy.

Was he happy? Sure. Well, for certain values of happy. Life wasn't too bad, at least. He would call that happy.

Mark ordered another beer.

*

When he saw her again, he couldn't believe his eyes at first. But it was her, definitely. A little older, but after all it had been a few years. And she still had that angelic face and soft features, the ones he had dreamed about so many times. She smiled at something the woman she was talking to said and while Mark could see it was an insincere, polite smile that never reached her eyes, it was still the smile he remembered. The smile that had appeared in those dreams as well.

And now she was, once again, standing in his gallery. What was she doing here? Had she come to see him?

She turned her face to her right, her eyes meeting his. She hesitated, just for one moment, as if she wanted to make sure he was really who she thought he was, then she smiled at him.

And this time, it reached Juliet's eyes.

*

"So, um, how have you been?"

This was awkward. They were sitting on the soft grass in the garden just below Edinburgh Castle. It was a sunny summer day, warm for Scotland, and around them, people were eating and talking and playing games. Having fun. But this situation was as awkward as it could get.

"Good. Mostly." She lay down on her back, looking up at the sky.

"Where's..." he started and stopped again, not knowing how to best phrase the question. He hadn't talked to Peter since he had left London. And the last few months of their friendship had been... difficult, anyway.

She closed her eyes. "Peter?" Her voice didn't give away what she thought about this question.

Mark nodded, even though she couldn't see him. "Yeah," he answered.

Juliet shrugged, and then shook her head. "Somewhere." She didn't sound like that was a subject she wanted to elaborate on.

Mark sank back down beside her and looked for something interesting in the few clouds that were floating above them, but saw nothing that held his gaze. There was a pause as neither of them knew what to say next. The situation grew even more awkward each second he didn't say anything in response.

"Why Scotland?" she asked.

"Why not?"

She nodded as if she understood.

*

"This is nice," she said as they stood looking over the city, having climbed up to Edinburgh Castle.

Mark nodded. But he wasn't looking at the view, he was only looking at her. Only ever had been.

"I can see the ocean."

He didn't say anything. Talking wasn't his thing, after all. And after all these years, she still made him speechless. While Mark had never believed in the concept of soulmates, he did believe in love.

*

"I don't get it," Juliet startled Mark. It was two weeks after he had first seen her in his gallery and they were eating dinner together at his place after she had just turned up at his door.

"What?" Mark asked and mentally slapped himself once again. When she didn't make him speechless, she made him a stuttering idiot or someone who was barely able to form a sentence consisting of more than three words. This was quite a disaster.

"Well, see, when I married Peter... and when I found out about what you felt towards me... I don't know. You haven't even asked me why I am here and how I found you."

Mark shrugged. "I wasn't sure you'd want to answer," he replied. It was the truth, it wasn't that he didn't want to know those answers. But she also hadn't been exactly forthcoming with anything else, so he hadn't wanted to pressure her in any way.

She smiled thinly. "Maybe, yes. I am certainly not the chattiest person at the moment, am I?"

"Not really, no," he said. Then he mustered up all the courage that was left within him.

"Did you come here for me?"

She looked at him, her eyes piercing right through him. "I don't know. Maybe. Yes, I think so. I needed to get out and it was quite easy to find the location of your new gallery. So I just came here."

Mark nodded and they sat in silence for a while and ate. But it was a more comfortable silence now. She had come to find him. That meant a lot.

 

*

"You haven't tried to kiss me yet."

It was a statement, spoken very plainly. Mark stopped dead in his tracks. "Huh?" was the most intelligent response he could muster.

"I mean," she hesitated and averted her eyes. "We are getting along great, aren't we?"

He nodded.

"And I can see you looking at me. It's like the way you looked at me when you stood in front of my door at Christmas Eve. And I like that look, really, I do. But you haven't tried to kiss me yet, so I'm thinking that maybe you don't want me, after all? Maybe I am just imagining this."

"Um, well..." Mark took a breath and pulled himself together. He thought of the time he had stood on her doorstep, anxious of how she would react and scared to death that Peter would come down. "Well, do you want me to? Look at you, kiss you?" Inwardly, he was begging her to say yes.

Juliet paused, then nodded. "Yes, I think I'd like that a lot."

"Well, then..." he trailed off and awkwardly leaned in closer to her. She was smiling, maybe at his awkwardness, but maybe just at the ridiculous situation. But then she closed her eyes and he bridged the small gap that was still between them.

Her lips were warm. And more importantly, they were _hers_.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to kangeiko for the beta.


End file.
